Method of attaching innermost of two containers to a dispensing valve carried by the outermost container

ABSTRACT

Valve in outer jacket carries depending cup having bottom with annular projection and lateral projection on its side walls. This cup is ultrasonically welded to a connecting member having an annular seat into which the neck of the inner container is screwed and cemented.

United States Patent I 1 Morane et al.

11 3,720,376 1 1March 13, 1973 [75] Inventors: Bruno P. Morane; PierreE. Alexandre, both of Paris, France [73] Assigneez' LOreal, Paris,France 221 Filed: June 18, 1971f" 21 Appl. 110.; 154,417

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 3/1961 Ferguson ..239/308 X3,255,926 6/1966 Modderno... ..222/94 X 3,325,056 6/1967 Lewis ..222/l36X 3,372,839 3/1968 Hayes ..222/136 X 3,508,685 '4/1970 Flynn ..222/136 X3,525,456 8/1970 Prussin et a1. ..222/l36 X 3,565,290 2/1971 Prussin eta1. ..222/94 X 3,581,952 6/1971 Marand et a]. ..239/308 X 3,595,4407/1971 Prussin et a1. ..222/1 36 X Primary Examiner-Allen N. KnowlesAssistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Attorney-Holcombe, Wetherill &Brisebois [57] ABSTRACT Valve in outer jacket carries depending cuphaving bottom with annular projection and lateral projection on its sidewalls. This cup is ultrasonically welded to a connecting member havingan annular seat into which the neck of the inner container is screwedand cemented,

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures June 24, 1970 France ..7023382 [52] [LS- Cl239/308, 222/136 [51] Int. CL", ..A62C 13/34 [58] Field of Search..222/94, 136, 145, 399; 7 239/308 [56] References Cited 'UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,888,208 5 1959 Fedi t. ..239 308 It: :JLt. E

METHOD OF ATTACHING INNERMOST OF TWO CONTAINERS TO A DISPENSING VALVECARRIED BY THE OUTER-MOST CONTAINER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It isfrequently desirable to package in a single container of the aerosolbomb type a plurality of incompatible products which must besimultaneously dispensed. These products are often relatively corrosiveto the walls of the container. This is particularly the case when it isdesired to enclose in a pressurized dispenser both an oxidation hair dyeand an oxidizing composition for use with this dye.

It has already been suggested that the inside of the outer jacket whichholds one of the products be coated and that both the inside and outsideof an inner container attached to the dispensing valve of the outerjacket be similarly coated. This valve is adapted to simultaneouslydispense the product enclosed in the outer jacket and the productenclosed in the inner container. It has also been suggested that theinner con tainer be made of metallic sheet material such as a thin sheetof aluminum for example, sandwiched between two plastic sheets, such aspolyethylene. It has been found in these two cases that difficulties areencountered in making a fluid-tight seal between the inside of the innercontainer and the inside of the outer jacket. These difficulties areencountered principally in the area in which the inner container isconnected to the dispensing valve carried by the outer jacket.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a method ofconnecting the inner container to the valve of the pressurized jacket,which method makes it possible to. avoid the aforesaid difficulties andproduce a fluid'tight' seal between the valve and the neck of the innercontainer attached thereto.

The present invention is accordingly directed to a new method ofattaching the neck of the inner container within a pressurized jacket tothe lower cup of the dispensing valve of the outer jacket, and isessentially characterized by the fact that a plastic connecting spout,preferably of the acetal type, is heat sealed in a fluid-tight manner tothe lower cup of the valve, which valve is likewise made of a plasticmaterial, preferably acetaL'Said. spout comprisesv a central passagewayin which. the lower cup of the valve is seated and heat sealecLThisvspout also comprises an annular seat encircling said passageway intowhich the neck of the-interior container may be screwed. The neck of theinterior container is adhesively secured to the annular peripheralseatby a fluid resin containing a setting agent.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the a dispensing valve ofthe pressurized container is first mounted'onametallic cap whichsupports it. The lower cup of the valve comprisesan'annular projectionon its base, which base is inserted into the central passageway of theconnecting spout,'and a peripheraliprojection mounted on the lateralwall of the base. The central passageway in the spout has a bottomadapted to come in contact with the, annular ring on the base of thelower cup of the valve. The bottoms of the spout and the lower cup arecentrally pierced to permit the passage of the. product contained in theinner container through the dispensing valve. The lower cup of the valveand the connecting spout are ultrasonically welded together. Theultrasonic welding is produced by means of a vibrating electrode calleda sonatrode, the volume of which is equal to about times the volume ofthe connecting spout. The neck of the inner container is not seated inthe spout during this welding. The ultrasonic waves applied during thewelding have a frequency between 19,000 and 21,000 cycles per second.During the ultrasonic welding the sonatrode is applied to the bottom ofthe spout against which the annular projection from the base of thelower cup of the valve rests, said valve being supported in order tosupport the weight of the sonatrode but not being laterally gripped. Theneck by means of which the inner container is attached inside theperipheral annular seat of the connecting spout has male threads on itsouter wall and the connecting spout has corresponding female threads onits inner wall. The neck of the inner container is attached to theconnecting spout by means of an adhesive of the epoxy type having abis-phenol base, sold under the trademark Araldite 201 by the SocieteCIBA, and mixed in a suitable quantity with a polyamide setting agent.The quantity of adhesive spread on the neck of the inner container toinsure its connection to the connecting spout is between 0.15 and 0.25grams for a neck having an outer diameter of about 15 mm. The wall ofthe central passageway of the connecting spout which comes in contactwith the inner wall of the neck of the inner container is slightlyconical so as to decrease the width of the annular peripheral seat inthe spout as this wall approaches the top of the neck.

It has been found, surprisingly, that by utilizing the process accordingto the invention, the ultrasonic welding between the connecting spoutand the lower cup of the valve is perfectly fluid tight. In effect, theprocess according to the invention as described produces a seal not onlyalong the annular projection on the base of the valve, but also alongthe peripheral projection from the lateral wall of the lower cup of thevalve. Moreover, in the range of ultrasonic frequencies indicated, andunder the conditions specified for the welding, neither the spout northe valve are in any way damaged.

A completely fluid-tight sealing of the inner container of thepressurized dispenser to the dispensing valve thereof is thus insuredand, if the wall of the inner container is made in such a manner as toresist both chemical action by the product inside the outer jacket andchemical action by the product inside the inner container, as isdescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 124,360 filed Mar. 15, 1971, itis possible to provide convenient means for storing two incompatibleproducts in such a pressurized dispenser.

0n the contrary, when the process of assembly according to the inventionis not used there is always the risk of leakage between the contents ofthe outer jacket of the pressurized container and the contents of theinner container which leads to accidents during storage, particularlywhen the inner container holds an oxidizing solution such as hydrogenperoxide, while the outer jacket holds an ammoniacal oxidationhair dye.

A further object of the present invention is to provide as a new articleof manufacture, a pressurized container comprising an outer jacketequipped with 1 a dispensing valve to the lower cup of which is attachedthe neck of an inner container, with the outer jacket and innercontainer each holding at least one fluid product. The two products may,for example, be chemically incompatible but simultaneously dispensed.This device is essentially characterized by the fact that the neck ofthe inner container is attached to the lower cup of the valve by theabove process, utilizing a connecting spout as hereinbefore described.

In order that the invention may be better understood a preferredembodiment thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustrationand example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in axial section a pressurized dispenser according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows an axial section in greater detail the attachment of theconnecting spout to the lower cup of the valve by ultrasonic welding;and

FIG. 3 shows in partial axial section and in detail the connecting spoutand the lower cup of the valve after the welding operation illustratedin FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that reference numeral 1designates the outer jacket of the pressurized dispenser according tothe invention. This outer jacket holds a product 2. The outer jacket 1may be made by extruding a disc of metal and may be internally coated ina conventional manner to resist chemical corrosion by the product 2. Atthe top of the outer jacket is a cap 3 which supports a dispensing valve4 and is attached to the outer jacket 1 by a crimped joint 5. The valve4 has a dispensing orifice 4a and its lower cup projects into the jacket1 and has a bottom 6 which is pierced along the axis of an orifice 7.Reference numeral 4b indicates the lateral wall of the valve 4. At thelower end of the lower cup of the valve 4, in the area in which thelateral wall 4b contacts the base 6, said wall 4b has a peripheralprojection 8. The bottom 6 is provided with an annular projecting ring 9having the same axis as the orifice 7.

The lower part 4b-6 of the valve 4 is attached to a connecting spoutcarrying reference numeral 10. The spout 10 is provided with a centraltube 11 which leads at its lower end to a bottom 12 centrally pierced byan orifice 13. A play of 0.2 mm is provided between the inner diameterof the central tube 11 of the spout l0 and the outer diameter of theprojection 8. The lateral wall 14 of an annular seat 15 which encirclesthe central tube 11 is connected to the end thereof remote from thebottom 12. The wall 14 carries an inner female thread 140 whichcooperates with the male thread 16a of the neck 16 of an inner container17.

The container 17 is made in a conventional manner by extruding a disc ofmetal and coating the inner and outer walls thereof in accordance withthe process described in U.S. application Ser. No. 124,360, filed Mar.15,1971.

The container 17 holds a product 18 and the upper part of its neck 16 isgripped inside an annular seat 15 by reason of the conicity which isprovided on the surface of the wall 11, which is in contact with thecollar 16. This conicity is about 25.

In order to attach the connecting spout 10 to the lower cup of the valve4 they are ultrasonically welded together. For this purpose, afterhaving positioned the cap 3 which carries the valve 4 on the support 19and after having positioned the connecting spout 10 as shown in FIG. 2on the lower part 4b of the valve 4, a

vibrating electrode 20 called a sonatrode is applied to the base 12 ofthe spout 10. This sonatrode 20 has a volume 150 times that of the spout10. The valve 4 is carried by the support 19 but is not held laterally.A play of 0.5 mm is provided between the annular projection 9 and thebase 12 of the spout 10. The sonatrode 20 produces electrasonic waves at20,000 cycles/sec. for a length of about 1 second. The lower cup of thevalve 4 and the connecting spout are made of a resin of the Acetal type.When welding is carried out under the conditions which have just beenset forth welding takes place along the length of the annular projection9 and the length of the peripheral projection 8 and is fluid tight. Nodeterioration of the walls, spout 10 or the lower cup of the valve 4results.

When the spout has thus been mounted on the valve 4, 0.20 g of anadhesive material of the epoxy type having a bis-phenol base and soldunder the trademark Araldite 201 by the CIBA Corporation is applied by apiston dispenser to the neck of the inner container 17. This adhesive ismixed in suitable proportions with a setting agent of the polyamidetype. It should be noted that for the quantity of coating materialindicated, the external diameter of the neck 16 is 16.2 mm when theinterior diameter of the spout at the bottom of the threads is 16.5 mm.The adhesive material is positioned on the threads 16a of the innercontainer 17 and this container is screwed into the seat in the spout sothat the threads 16a cooperate with the threads 14a.

The adhesive material deposited on the threads 16a then hardens toproduce a fluid tight seal between the inner container 17 and theconnecting spout 10.

One example of such a container will now be described. In this examplethe outer jacket 1 holds 45 cm of a product 2 which is a solution of anoxidizing hair dye responding to the following formula:

nonylphenol condensed with 4 molecules of ethylene oxide 23 gnonylphenol condensed with 9 molecules of ethylene oxide 25 g copradietharolamine 6 g butylglycol monoether 2 g propylene glycol 16 g 20%ammonia 12 ml paratoluylene diamine 0.9 g para-aminophenol 0.9 gmeta-diamino-anisol sulfate 0.06 g meta-aminophenol 0.2 g resorcinol 0.5g nitroparaphenylene diamine 0.002 g hydroquinone 0.10 g sodium salt ofdiethylene-triamino-pentaacetic acid 1.5 g sodium bisulfite 1.2 ml waterq.s. g

The container 17 holds 45 cm of an oxidizing product 18 responding tothe following formula:

aqueous solution containing 6% 11,0, by weight 44 g B-hydroxyquinoline0.01 g pyrophosphate of anhydrous sodium carbonate 0.03 g sodium salt ofethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid 0.02 g phosphoric acid q.s. pH 3water, q.s. 100 8 The inside of the jacket 1 is pressurized with 8 gramsof trichloromonofluoro-methane which constitutes the propellant gas 21.

When the neck 16 has thus been sealed in a fluid tight manner to thecontainer 17, which is open at the bottom, to the connecting spout l0and to the lower cup of the valve 4, the product 18 is placed in thecontainer 17 and the bottom of the jacket is closed. The product 2 isthen introduced into the outer jacket 1 and finally the cap 3 is mountedon top of the jacket 1. They are crimped together at 5 and thepropellant gas 21 is introduced through the valve 4.

It should be noted that, in this example, the metallic wall of thecontainer 17 has been protected on both inside and outside fromcorrosion by means by a coating material applied in several layers atthe rate of 45 mg/cm of the wall, said coating material responding tothe following formula:

vinyl chloride 18.5% vinyl acetochloride containing 1% maleic acid 6.5%phenolic resin obtained by condensing phenol with formaldehyde 2.23%titanium oxide phosphoric acid 0.1 1% polyethylene wax 0.8% solvent ashereinbefore defined q.s. 100% This coating material is applied by meansof a solvent using the process described in French Patent No. 70-14192.The inner wall of the outer jacket 1 has also been coated in the sameway with a coating material having the same formula as the one used forthe inner container 17.

It has been found that such a dispenser makes it possible to store thedyeing composition 2 and the associated oxidizing solution 18 for 4months at 40C without any deterioration in either the chemicalcomposition of the products 2 or 18 or in the resistance to corrosion inthe areas connecting the neck 16 and the spout 10. In other words, atthe end of such a period of storage, it is possible, by acting on thedispensing spout 4a of the valve 4, to simultaneously dispense thedyeing composition 2 and its associated oxidizing solution 18.

It will be course by appreciated that the foregoing embodiment has beengiven purely by way of example, and may be modified as to detail withoutthereby departing from the basic principles of the invention as definedby the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Method of attaching the plastic neck of an inner container to beenclosed within a pressurized outer jacket to a plastic dispensing valvecarried by said outer jacket and comprising a lower cup, which methodcomprises the steps of ultrasonically welding to said cup a connectingspout having a central tube in which said outer cup is seated andwelded, said spout also having an annular seat encircling saidpassageway to which the neck of said inner container may be attached,said method comprising the further step of cementing the neck of theinner container in said peripheral annular seat by means of a resinousfluid containing a setting agent.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1 essentially characterized by the factthat the dispensing valve of the pressurized container is mounted on asupporting metallic cap before it is welded to the connecting spout.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1 in which the lower cup of the valvecarries near its bottom, which is introduced into the central tube inthe connecting spout, on the one hand an annular projection positionednear its bottom, and on the other hand a peripheral projection extendingfrom its lateral wall while the central tube of the spout also comprisesa bottom adapted to contact the annular projection on the bottom of theouter cup of the valve, the bottom of the spout and the outer cup beingcentrally pierced to permit passage of the liquid contained in the outercontainer through the dispensing valve.

4. Process as claimed in claim 1 in which the outer cup of the valve andthe connecting spout are ultrasonically welded together by means of avibrating electrode, the volume of which is more than times that of theconnecting spout, and the neck of the inner container is outside thespout at the time of this welding.

5. Method as claimed in claim 4 in which the outer cup of the valve andthe connecting spout are made of a plastic material of the Acetal typeand the ultrasonic vibrations applied for welding have a frequencybetween 19,000 and 21,000 cycles/sec, the vibrating electrode beingapplied to the bottom of the spout against which the annular projectionfrom the bottom of the outer cup of the valve rests, the valve beingsupported to sustain the application of the vibrating electrode but notbeing laterally held.

6. Method as claimed in claim 1 in which the neck by which the innercontainer is attached inside the peripheral annular seat of theconnecting spout comprises male threading on its outer wall, and theconnecting spout carries mating inner female threading, the connectionof the neck of the inner container to the connecting spout being made bymeans of adhesive material of the epoxy type having a bis-phenol basemixed with a polyamide setting agent.

7. Method as claimed in claim 6 in which the quantity of adhesivematerial used on the neck of the inner container to connect it to theconnecting spout is between 0.15 and 0.25 g for an external neckdiameter of about 15 mm.

8. Method as claimed in claim 3 in which the wall of the centralpassageway of the connecting spout which comes in contact with the innerwall of the neck of the inner container has a slight conicity whichdecreases the diameter of the peripheral annular seat in the spout inthe zone which receives the top of the neck.

9. Pressurized container comprising an outer jacket provided with adispensing valve having an inner cup, and an inner container having aneck connected to said cup, the inner container and the outer jacketeach enclosing at least one fluid product, said products beingchemically incompatible, essentially characterized by the fact that theneck of the inner container is attached to the cup of the valve by theprocess of claim 3.

1. Method of attaching the plastic neck of an inner container to beenclosed within a pressurized outer jacket to a plastic dispensing valvecarried by said outer jacket and comprising a lower cup, which methodcomprises the steps of ultrasonically welding to said cup a connectingspout having a central tube in which said outer cup is seated andwelded, said spout also having an annular seat encircling saidpassageway to which the neck of said inner container may be attached,said method comprising the further step of cementing the neck of theinner container in said peripheral annular seat by means of a resinousfluid containing a setting agent.
 1. Method of attaching the plasticneck of an inner container to be enclosed within a pressurized outerjacket to a plastic dispensing valve carried by said outer jacket andcomprising a lower cup, which method comprises the steps ofultrasonically welding to said cup a connecting spout having a centraltube in which said outer cup is seated and welded, said spout alsohaving an annular seat encircling said passageway to which the neck ofsaid inner container may be attached, said method comprising the furtherstep of cementing the neck of the inner container in said peripheralannular seat by means of a resinous fluid containing a setting agent. 2.Method as claimed in claim 1 essentially characterized by the fact thatthe dispensing valve of the pressurized container is mounted on asupporting metallic cap before it is welded to the connecting spout. 3.Method as claimed in claim 1 in which the lower cup of the valve carriesnear its bottom, which is introduced into the central tube in theconnecting spout, on the one hand an annular projection positioned nearits bottom, and on the other hand a peripheral projection extending fromits lateral wall, while the central tube of the spout also comprises abottom adapted to contact the annular projection on the bottom of theouter cup of the valve, the bottom of the spout and the outer cup beingcentrally pierced to permit passage of the liquid contained in the outercontainer through the dispensing valve.
 4. Process as claimed in claim 1in which the outer cup of the valve and the connecting spout areultrasonically welded together by means of a vibrating electrode, thevolume of which is more than 100 times that of the connecting spout, andthe neck of the inner container is outside the spout at the time of thiswelding.
 5. Method as claimed in claim 4 in which the outer cup of thevalve and the connecting spout are made of a plastic material of theAcetal type and the ultrasonic vibrations applied for welding have afrequency between 19,000 and 21,000 cycles/sec., the vibrating electrodebeing applied to the bottom of the spout against which the annularprojection from the bottom of the outer cup of the valve rests, thevalve being supported to sustain the application of the vibratingelectrode but not being laterally held.
 6. Method as claimed in claim 1in which the neck by which the inner container is attached inside theperipheral annular seat of the connecting spout comprises male threadingon its outer wall, and the connecting spout carries mating inner femalethreading, the connection of the neck of the inner container to theconnecting spout being made by means of adhesive material of the epoxytype having a bis-phenol base mixed with a polyamide setting agent. 7.Method as claimed in claim 6 in which the quantity of adhesive materialused on the neck of the inner container to connect it to the connectingspout is between 0.15 and 0.25 g for an external neck diameter of about15 mm.
 8. Method as claimed in claim 3 in which the wall of the centralpassageway of the connecting spout which comes in contact with the innerwall of the neck of the inner container has a slight conicity whichdecreases the diameter of the peripheral annular seat in the spout inthe zone which receives the top of the neck.